ToTM Part Three: Viko
by RustyViko4ever
Summary: The third in the Tale of Two Mages Trilogy. Check out the others, they rock! I'm finally working on this again. 10th chapter: Everyone regroups, and Aldoran talks tactics with his General, Cyrus. But has Reliya overheard too much?
1. Meet Viko

Rusty, The Anime-Niac, is proud to present:

Viko

The tale of the child of Vivi and Eiko.

Inspired by Kawai Vivi's fic, The Mage of Eternal Darkness.

For those who care, this follows the stories of my previous Tale of Two Mages fics. So, this would be the third in the trilogy. Enjoy!

1

"Now, just focus really hard, and you'll get it," Eiko said to a figure next to her. The figure was a girl, 4'5" tall, with short, navy blue hair, and the smallest stub of a horn on her forehead. Her eyes were a pair of large, bright yellow orbs, and they focused themselves on the form of Vivi. Her hands were both gloved up to the last portion of her fingers, and they were outstretched fully, with palms aimed at the white mage in front of her. Her pale lips parted, and in a voice as sweet as honey, she spoke.

"Float!"

White energy swirled out of her hands, and nestled itself on Vivi's feet. Suddenly, he started floating in the air. Both he and his wife Eiko began applauding, and the child smiled widely. 

"You did it, Viko! Way to go!" Eiko said, crouching down to give her a hug. She rushed up to her, wrapping her arms around her and burying her face in her chest. Quickly, she looked up at her face.

"I did it, mom! I really did it!" Viko said.

"Congratulations. What do you want to learn next?" she asked, stepping away from her and standing up. Eiko cast Dispel on Vivi quickly, and then he went to stand with his wife and smile down at his precious child. 

"Um... I wanna learn something with black magic next," the girl said. Eiko nodded to Vivi.

"That's your department."

"Right. Okay, Viko, you already know Blizzard, Fire, and Thunder. Why not complete the cycle with a Water spell?" he asked her.

"Oh, yeah! I love water, dad! Teach me a Water spell!"

"All right!"

Within minutes, Eiko was soaking wet, and Vivi was just smiling to himself. How long had it been since his honeymoon with Eiko? Fourteen years, if he remembered correctly. Well it sounded right. Four years after they had completed their round-the-world trip, they had managed to re-build the Black Mage Village, and were settled in quite nicely. It was shortly after that four-year mark that Vivi had gotten the news; Eiko was pregnant. And, low and behold, nine months later she gave birth to Viko, who had the best qualities of both Vivi and Eiko. They could tell right from the start that she was a summoner, as she had a horn on her forehead, though it was little more then a bump when they first noticed it. And, the glow in her eyes made it seem rather apparent that she would have Black Magic. 

The only real problem was what to call her. With so many intelligent species on Gaia; Qu, Human, Summoner, Genomer, (Dagger and Zidane's child), Burmecian, Black Mage, and Moogle, Viko needed a classification. After much deliberating, Eiko and Vivi decided to say that she was a Black Summoner. While it sounded kind of sinister, one only needed to look at her to tell otherwise. She was just about the cutest ten-year-old in existence. 

And, though no one knew it yet, Viko would become one of the most powerful things that Gaia had ever seen. Gaia would need that advantage, because it was about to get yet another angry visitor. In fact, Gaia was about to be introduced to something it had long been a part of, but was never fully aware of. And it might very well change the course of Gaia's history forever.

* * *

"Tell me, what is the status of our enemy?" a tall, shadowy figure asked to a smaller one standing next to him.

"Yes sir. They are presently not acquiring any vast or important amounts of territory, but the resource inflow from their last conquest had been fueling a massive increase in the size of their military. I fear they may take our last failed attempt at expansion as a sign of weakness, and attack us," it responded, voice grainy and rather low.

"I see. Very well then, let them come. But if we are to defend ourselves amply, we will need another planet to hold as territory. At the very least, it will provide a diversion of sorts. We'll need something that has lots of resources, but not heavily inhabited. Are there any planets like that within our area of influence?" the taller one asked, his own voice smooth and cold.

"I will get right on that, sir. I should have a few planets to report to you in ten minutes."

"Excellent."

The smaller one rushed off, while the taller one sat down in his command chair. War was an ugly thing, but he hadn't started it. In fact, he wasn't even sure what he was fighting for; the whole thing had started generations ago. All anyone really knew these days was that they didn't like each other for some reason, and so they fought. He was the commander of his side's navy; he had no choice. His people wanted him to fight, and so he did so. He would try his very best to end this war as quickly as he could, with as few casualties as possible, but he would spare no mercy. It wasn't in his job description.

* * *

"Vivi! Why did you tell her to aim that spell at ME?" Eiko asked in an agitated, but playful voice. Vivi just looked down at Viko, who smiled up at him, and next they were both spraying her with very weak water spells.

"Agh! Stop that, or I'm not going to cook for you! Gah! Oh, I'll get you for this Vivi Ornitier! Just you wait!" she said through mouthfuls of water and much spluttering. Vivi and Viko had had their laugh, so they stopped. 

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go dry off. I wouldn't trust YOU with a fire spell any further then I can bop you," Eiko informed them, and off she went inside their cozy home on the edge of the village. After Viko and Vivi got over their conniption fits, they gave each other a high-five.

"Good job, Viko. So, what do you want to do next?" Vivi asked her.

"Um... I wanna see Uncle Quina!" Viko shouted. Vivi chuckled. They finally decided that for Viko's sake, Quina would be treated as a man. At least, as long as they weren't around him. 

"Oh, I'm sorry, hun, but he's not near here. We'd have to borrow an airship."

"But why can't you? I wanna see Uncle Quina!" she protested. Vivi sighed.

"Because, the closest airship around here is all the way over in Lindblum. We'd have to sail there on the Blue Narciss. And you know how much you hate going sailing."

"Ick! I'm not gonna ride a boat. Okay, I wanna learn more magic then!"

"That's my girl. Second level spells maybe?" Vivi asked. Viko shook her head.

"No, I wanna learn something like what you do; something really strong," she said, jumping up and down a bit. Vivi looked a little nervous.

"Why would you want to learn anything like that?" he asked her.

"Because they look like a lot of fun!" Viko shouted.

"Um... well, I suppose it would be okay, but I'll have to ask your mom first. She might not be okay with it."

"Okay dad. I'll stay out here and keep practicing what you've taught me!"

"Good to hear, Viko. Now don't burn down any trees!" Vivi said, heading into the house, laughing a bit.

"I won't, dad!"

__

Good, he's gone. Now I can practice the strong stuff. She thought to herself. Placing both hands out in front of her, fingers outstretched, palms aimed at the ground off in the distance, she whispered under her breath.

"Bliziga... no, that's not right... Blizega... no. Blizaga!"

That was all it took to summon forth the massive ice spell, the huge crystals shooting out of the ground, knocking down a few nearby trees. Viko smirked to herself. All this practicing in private really helped out. But she could never let her parents find out, because she knew they would be upset that she had learned it all by herself. For that matter, she had learned quite a lot of white magic as well. So, seeing the trees knocked down, she cast another spell.

"Life!"

And the trees went right back onto their stumps. Giving a satisfied nod, she went back to her weak first level spells. Couldn't have her parents discover that she was as powerful as either of them, with the combined abilities of her magiks. For now, it would just be her little secret.

"Water!"

She shouted as Vivi walked out through the door. Quite suddenly, he had wet feet.

"I'm sorry, Viko, but your mom says that you can't learn anything that powerful yet. You need to learn all of the things below it first, or else it could be dangerous."

Viko sighed. "Fine. Then teach me more fire spells."

"Okay hun."

* * *

"So, have you anything to report?" the commander asked, standing up from his chair.

"Yes, indeed! It would seem there is a planet in close proximity to this ship's current location, which fits our needs perfectly. It has only just mastered steam technology, and has next to nothing that could defend against our invasion. It is bountiful in resources, and rather few in population, considering the size of the planet."

"You say they have next to nothing. What is that one thing that keeps them away from nothing?"

"Oh, it is nothing to worry about. They have a few mages who can call forth Eidolons, but they do not have contact with any Eidolon powerful enough to cause us worry."

"If you say so. What is the name of this planet, for the sake of curiosity?"

"They call it Gaia, sir."

Do you like? PLEASE SAY YES! Review, please! Thanky.


	2. Viko's Secret

Behold! The second chapter of the final **cough** piece in the trilogy.

2

The late hour drew itself upon the forest in which the Black Mage Village was. After Eiko had dried herself off, she had gone outside to teach Viko a few more white magic spells, even though Viko already knew them. Eiko didn't know that, of course, but it was in everyone's best interest, or so Viko thought, to keep it that way. Shortly after, she grew rather bored, and pestered her parents once more to take her to the Hero's (Mist) Continent. This time, she wanted to see Reliya, the daughter of Zidane and Dagger. Over the past years, they had become good friends. Zidane and Dagger had offered for the two to come live with them in the castle; they certainly had the right to, after all. However, Eiko still hated castles. They were just way too large for her liking; she much preferred the rugged life style led in the forest.

For that matter, the entire family did. It was somewhat of a trait, in fact. Still, they didn't mind occasional visits. After a bit of discussing, Eiko and Vivi decided they wouldn't mind going for a boat ride if Viko didn't. It took her a bit longer to get over her fear of becoming seasick, but eventually she decided that she really wanted to see Reliya. Viko had a hunch that she was a lot more powerful then her parents thought as well, but she wanted to find out for sure. And she also wanted to see her, because they were really good friends. There was also another reason.

Viko had been getting an extremely bad feeling lately, and she wanted to get away from the Black Mage Village. She had a hunch that something very bad was about to happen, so she figured it would be best to go away for a while. And, Reliya happened to be a method by which she could do this. So, after the long trek through the forest, the group of mages made it to the shore. And, the Blue Narciss was still tied down there. Fortunately for them, bandits were next to non-existent on this continent, and for those few who did exist, they had equipped the Narciss with an anti-theft enchantment, so that anyone who didn't disable the spell first would be blasted away.

So the first thing they did was Dispel it, then climbed up the ladder and pushed off. Within minutes, they were out on the open ocean, with Vivi piloting and Eiko and Viko having some girl time towards the back of the boat. 

"Mom, tell me how you fell in love with dad," she asked, her feet swinging idly as she sat on Eiko's lap, who was sitting on a chair built into the deck. She gave a contented sigh, then proceeded to tell her.

"Well, it all started shortly after Zidane came back from the Iifa Tree."

"What's the Iifa Tree, mom?" she asked, already getting a bad feeling.

"That's a long story. I might tell it to you later. Anyway, I was telling you about Vivi. I was even younger then you, at the time. In fact, so was he. But even then the seeds of love were starting to grow. After that day, we saw each other about four times in a year, and he never really suspected a thing. Then, one day, I had decided that I was sick and tired of Lindblum Castle, so I decided to run away with Vivi. And during our escape, well... something clicked, and from there our love for each other just built and built until we decided to get married."

Viko smiled up at her mom, and she smiled back.

"Hey, your horn is getting bigger. Pretty soon, you'll be able to talk with Eidolons!" she said. Viko smirked, and chuckled a bit.

"That will be fun. I can't wait!"

"Oh, but you'll have to. You still have a few more weeks, I'd say."

"Aww. Oh well."

With that, she gave a stretch and a big yawn.

"You look tired. Maybe you should take a nap?" Eiko suggested. Viko nodded.

"Yeah, I'm kinda sleepy. Tuck me in?" she asked with a smile as bright as the twin moons. Eiko nodded.

"Of course."

And with that, the two girls headed inside to get Viko into bed. Vivi had heard the whole thing, interestingly enough, and chuckled softly to himself. He was the luckiest Black Mage in the world. He had a beautiful, smart, and funny wife, plus a daughter who seemed to have the best qualities of both of them. It didn't get much better then this. The problem with that was, when bad things did happen, it was a lot worse for people like them. And one of those things was about to happen.

* * *

"Gaia, then. Our mission is to destroy all sentient and/or intelligent life, then begin resource mining. Crush any resistance, and though we don't expect much of it, everyone should probably bring a weapon of some sort. Is that understood?" asked the Major in the group.

"Yes sir!" called out every person in the assembly.

"Right then. Get to your drop pods! We commence the invasion immediately!"

"Yes sir!"

And with that, the soldiers went quickly to their barracks and armed themselves. Shortly after, they got in pairs and filed into the drop pods. The drop pods shot out from the belly of the command ship, and made their way to the planet of Gaia. They would likely land in a few days.

* * *

After Eiko had sent Viko to bed, she left the room and approached her husband. Slipping her arms around his neck, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"So, Captain, how are the seas this evening?" she asked. Vivi chuckled softly.

"The seas are calm. Almost eerily so, in fact; its like a calm before a storm, or something," he said.

"Hey now, you're just being superstitious. What could possibly go wrong? I mean, can you think of anything at all that we would have to worry about?" Eiko asked. Vivi chuckled softly again.

"You're right hun, as always. Except we might have to worry about getting cold," Vivi said with a smirk.

"Naw. You could always light a fire."

"Eiko, this ship is made of wood."

She giggled a bit. "Oops."

This flirt session turned quickly into a passionate kiss; Viko knew nothing about it. She was focusing all of her energy toward something completely different, even after she had feigned sleep for her mother. She sat awake in her bed, and stared out the porthole in the door.

"Okay. I know I've heard him talk about it. Now if I could just remember... what is it called? I know it's a really powerful spell, and I know I could do it if I tried... but I can't remember what it's called! Gah!" 

Viko racked her brain for a few minutes, but couldn't come up with the name.

"Oh, heck. I'll just try something different. Let's see... Comet should work."

With that, she got out of bed, and headed to the back of the boat. Staring out towards the coastline, she put both of her hands out. She had to be really quiet this time, or else her parents would hear her for sure. So, after focusing all of her power, she whispered under her breath,

"Comet!"

Quite suddenly, there was a disturbance in the night sky. It seemed like a small rift opened up in it, and out from it came a falling rock of immense size. It splashed down into the ocean, making quite the loud noise. Viko would have cursed, but she didn't know such words existed. So instead, she just rushed back into bead, and hoped that the waves going through the water wouldn't be too much to worry about.

"So that's what Comet is... I should have known," she said in a hushed whisper. Her parents had indeed heard the noise, and the first thing they did was rush back to check on Viko. They burst through the door.

"Viko, did something happen? We heard a huge crash," Vivi said. She shook her head with an 'I know nothing' look. 

Vivi and Eiko looked at each quickly, and just as they were about to look in the direction the noise came from, the entire boat rocked.

"Ahh!" Viko screamed, mostly for the sake of realism. She knew what was going on, but her parents didn't. It would look bad if she wasn't scared. Eiko rushed over to comfort her, and Vivi moved to the back of the ship. He saw the last bits of the ripples from the spell, and started to make educated guesses. He returned to the bedroom.

"Everyone okay?" he asked. The girls nodded.

"All right, I think I know what happened. Something fell into the ocean. Something big, too. The ripples looked way too centered for it to have been anything but something falling from above. The only thing I can't figure out is what it was."

Viko was presently clutching on to her mother, who was clutching her back. Viko made a small, nervous laugh, and then suggested something. "A rock, maybe?"

Both of the other pairs of eyes focused on Viko quite suddenly.

"Viko, the only rock that could have fallen from the sky would be a Comet or Meteor spell. And I know that I didn't cast a Comet or Meteor spell. Are you hiding something from us, Viko?" Vivi asked. She shook her head.

"No..."

Eiko took her child's head in her hands softly and looked her in the face.

"You can't lie to us, Viko. We can always tell," she said, brushing a few strands of hair out from her daughter's face. Viko started sniffing a bit.

"I know... I would never lie to you guys. The truth is... I cast the Comet spell," she said, sniffling all the way through it, looking down at the bed. Eiko and Vivi thought for a moment, then Eiko patted her on the back.

"Viko... come on. We know you couldn't have done that, Vivi never taught you. Right?"

Vivi nodded.

"But he didn't need to, mom. I taught myself," she said, sniffling starting to become crying.

"Viko, what's wrong?" Vivi asked, coming to sit next to her.

"I thought you wouldn't love me anymore if you found out I was as strong as you guys... so I never told you that I could do all those high level spells. I... I'm so sorry!" Viko succumbed to her sobbing, burying her face in her hands. Eiko and Vivi looked back and forth from each other to their daughter.

"High level magic? Do you think she's telling the truth, Vivi?" Eiko asked.

Vivi nodded. "It makes sense. I mean, there's no one else here with black magic. And with a girl like this, would it really surprise you? She did want to practice the high-level stuff, after all."

Eiko pondered for a moment. "You're right. Viko, dear, it's okay. We will always love you no matter what. In fact, we think this it's great that you know high level magic! Right, Vivi?"

"Right. You're a very special girl! Don't cry anymore. It's okay."

She sniffled some more. "Really?"

"Really," said Eiko and Vivi in unison. Viko smiled.

"Okay. I won't hide stuff from you anymore. I promise."

"Good to hear, Eiko. Now, why don't you and mom go to bed and rest? I have to go and steer the boat."

And with that, Vivi was out and to the helm. Viko and her mother both crawled into the large bed, and started snoozing. Eiko was actually pretty tired herself. Poor Vivi, she thought. He must be exhausted, but he had to be the pilot. Well, that was one of the reasons she married him. He was such a strong leader, and he could push himself beyond what most people thought was a limit. And so it was that Viko was just as headstrong and full of initiative. She would need it.


	3. Viko tries

Behold! Chapter three! Enjoy.

3

The rest of the two-day trip was rather uneventful, that is until they landed in Alexandria harbor. Vivi had promised his daughter that he would work on the higher level spells with her once they reached land, but only if she was a good girl, so Viko had been a veritable angel all the way through. And, to make things even sweeter for the wonderful ten-year-old, Eiko began instructing her in such spells as Full-Life, Regen, and Mini. In actuality, these spells were more difficult then the Holy spell, because they required much more concentration to do, but there was too much of a risk that someone or something, the boat, namely, would get hurt. 

Standing there to greet them when they pulled in to dock was none other then Quina Qu. Even after all these years, the Qu was still as jolly looking as ever, and rumor had it that s/he cooked better then ever. As the family climbed down the ladder at the front of the _Blue Narciss_, Quina trotted up to Viko and licked her face like a dog. Sputtering, Viko put her hands up and pushed the creature away.

"Ack! Uncle Quina, stop it! I'm not a munchie!" Viko stammered. Quina laughed, while Vivi gave him/her a pat on the back.

"Quina! Didn't expect to see you here. What's the occasion?" he asked. Quina licked some excess food from his/her lips and jumped up and down a few times.

"Quina come to castle to try new recipe. Kitchen here is HUGE! They have everything! Even frogs!" s/he pronounced happily, whilst Viko grimaced at the suggestion of eating frogs. The pleasantries and greetings continued for a bit, then Quina led the others into the castle. As they rode up the elevator, Quina asked a few questions.

"So, what you doing here? Try my new cooking, yes?" the Qu asked enthusiastically, bobbing its head up and down. Eiko shook her head.

"Actually, no, we didn't come here with the intention of trying your new food, but I'm sure my family agrees with me when I say that we should try some of it. Anyway, we just came to be a visit. Things were getting rather dull back at the Black Mage Village, and little Viko here wanted to see Reliya. It was a win-win situation," she informed him/her. Quina shifted his/her weight from one foot to the other, and looked a little down.

"What's wrong, Uncle Quina?" Viko asked with a smile ten miles wide. Quina became unhappy; a very rare sight indeed.

"Princess Reliya sick. Dagger no can make her better. Not even Quina's chicken soup help her! Something very wrong."

Eiko and Vivi exchanged worried glances, while Viko shuddered. She was getting some bad feelings from all this. The elevator came to a halt, and two guards greeted them rapidly, then lead them out into the courtyard. There, Beatrix met them.

"Hello Eiko, Vivi," she said softly, almost ignoring Viko, who stood behind her parents.

"Beatrix, we heard that the princess is ill. Is that true?" asked Vivi. Beatrix nodded gravely.

"Unfortunately. It seems that though we may no longer be at war with inter-planetary forces or lab-born madmen, germs still oppress us. Lady Reliya is bedridden with fever, and none of Queen Garnet's magic can do a thing. Doctor Tot is in the library, researching on some sort of cure. I myself have simply been wondering if she will ever return to health." She shook her head, looking down at the ground.

"That's horrible! Is there anything we can do?" Eiko asked, urgency quite apparent in her voice. Beatrix shrugged.

"I suppose you could try healing her, though I doubt it would do any good. The Queen has cast multiple healing spells, and I've even given it a shot, but the poor girl just isn't responding. If she stays sick much longer, she might be permanently incapacitated, so anything is worth trying."

Viko couldn't believe her ears. Her best friend in the whole world was sick and not getting better? She didn't believe it. In fact, she grew determined to see her friend restored to normal health. It wasn't much longer before the group had made their way inside the castle, where soon enough they met Zidane and Dagger. 

* * *

As the heroes, heroines and hero-ettes of Gaia discussed Reliya's situation, the drop pods continued to rush closer to the planet. They were within sight of Gaia now, and a small detachment of the navy had begun to follow in their wake. In fact, the commander himself was going along. The plan was for the enemy to suspect some sort of massive build up or assault being prepared in the area, with the commander overseeing it. Then, as they sent in forces to investigate, the real bulk of the commander's army would sneak around and take them out from behind. It was the best he could come up with.

His name was Aldoran Trife, also known as Commander, Commander Trife, and by his enemies, Shadow. Trife was not much of a tactician, but by heritage he was deemed the Commander of the Trilan navy. It was quite a strange culture, especially considering all of them were human in appearance and state-of-mind. But none of that really mattered to Commander Aldoran Trife; he was drawing in on the planet called Gaia. His drop pods of soldiers would likely land in less then one of that planet's days. Soon he would be able to end this stupid war and get on with life. It really was too bad he had to kill all of the people on that planet, but that was what happened in wars. How ironic that he was doing what he hated so much in an attempt to prevent it from happening ever again.

* * *

Zidane, Dagger, and the others had re-acquainted themselves nicely after the months it had been since last they saw each other, and they had all gone into the bedroom of Princess Reliya. The sickly pale figure coughed softly as they entered. Viko rushed forward quickly to her friend's side, and looked over her. She couldn't see much, as Reliya was under the covers, but Viko saw her long, black hair, with streaks of golden blonde here and there. Her face was not what it used to be, but for the most part it was still the rounded, hazel-eyed face Viko had had many staring contests with. They both had an amazing capacity to keep their eyes open, but Reliya's were shut tight with weariness. Viko stroked her forehead lightly, dodging the formation that was Reliya's horn.

"Reliya..." was all she could say. Going back to her parents, she tugged on her mother's sleeve so that she would lean down to listen to a whisper. Eiko did so, and Viko began her whispering.

"Mom, do you think I could try an Esuna spell?" she asked. Eiko pondered for a moment, then shrugged.

"Why not? We can both try."

"Try what?" Zidane asked. Viko chuckled a bit. Vivi had an idea.

"I think they want to try some white magic. Couldn't hurt, could it?" he asked. Dagger became somewhat offended.

"What makes you think that their white magic would be any more powerful then mine?" she asked. Vivi put up his hands and shook his head.

"Nothing at all! Just maybe there's something different about it."

"Fine. Let them try, hun," Zidane said, holding his wife close. She smiled up at him and nodded.

"Sure. It couldn't hurt."

No sooner then that was said was Eiko and Viko at Reliya's bedside, Eiko up first. She put her outspread hands over the form of the 11-year-old child, and she softly chanted Esuna and Curaga, but to no avail. The spells just seemed to fade around her. Eiko looked downtrodden, and Dagger shook her head.

"See. I told you it wouldn't work," she said, sounding miserable. Beatrix spoke up.

"Wait. Viko hasn't tried yet." Beatrix spoke with a commanding tone. It seemed as if she had indeed sensed something within the small girl, and the others were not about to argue against the judgement of the Alexandrian General. Viko cracked her knuckles as if she were about to begin playing the piano, the material of her palm-gloves already glowing white.

"I'll try my best," she squeaked. Nervousness was all over her. Her head hung a bit as she chanted Esuna very softly. A ball of white energy built up in between her two palms, and as she continued to chant, mixing in a few Curaga mumbles here and there, the ball gave off a soft, warming green glow, growing bigger and bigger, until eventually it was larger then Reliya's head. It floated away from Viko, and hovered above the still small form of Reliya's horn. Then, all of the sudden, it was as if the horn sucked up the ball through a straw, because it vanished quite quickly as it seemed to enter Reliya through her horn. She gave a weak cough, and then her eyes opened up. Viko fell back on her butt, and put a hand to her head.

"Ow..." she moaned. Reliya rose up to a sitting position.

"Wha... what happened?" she asked, voice weak. Dagger rushed to her and gave her the biggest hug imaginable.

"Reliya! Oh, I can't believe it! Viko healed you! I can't believe it!" Dagger was almost hysterical. Reliya coughed some more, then lied back down. Her voice was hoarse.

"Actually, I still feel awful. A little better then before, but, cough, not much." She turned her head to see Viko sitting on the floor, Eiko kneeling by her side as she massaged her forehead.

"What happened to Viko? Are you okay?" she asked. Viko stood up.

"Yeah... but I wasted all of my magical power on that combi-spell. I couldn't cast another if my life depended on it," she informed them. Dagger looked a little confused, but Zidane took it in quickly.

"Do you know what this means? If we can keep refueling her magic, she can heal Reliya!" he pronounced. Quina jumped up and down.

"Excellent! Quina make big feast for everyone! You all eat lots and no get sick!"

Before anyone could object, Quina dashed off to the kitchen. Viko sighed.

"Hey, I'm tired. You could give me an elixir for all I care, but I'm not gonna do that again," she protested. Suddenly something more dawned on one of the group members, Beatrix this time.

"Wait a second. Did you say you did a combi-spell, Viko?" she asked. The girl nodded.

"Yeah, it's simple, really. You just focus one spell into a piece of air where it won't have any affect, and it just sort of floats there. You can combine it with other spells from that point, including copies of the same spell, but it drains a lot of magical power."

The group was dumbstruck. Reliya was the next person to ask a question.

"Viko, I knew you could do high-level magic, but a combi-spell? How long have you been able to do that? Ugh... I feel terrible."

"Don't worry, I'm gonna rest up and then heal you back to normal. I'll get rid of those germs for you. I'd say I just figured out combi-spells a few days before we got on the boat. Glad they were such a success!"

Everyone in the room stood or sat where they were, not sure what to think of this prodigal Black Summoner. Viko looked to each one of them.

"Well? Why is everyone staring at me? Don't we have food to get to?" she asked. They all shifted their weight a bit, and Dagger comforted Reliya some more.

"Rest now. We'll have some juice and hot soup brought in for you soon, so don't strain yourself to get up."

"Okay mom."

"Well then," she said, getting up and walking towards the door, "who thinks we should get some salad to start off with?"

Vibrant "I do!" cries were heard about the room. Soon enough, the congregation had gone to the banquet hall, where soon enough, salad was laid out. Viko had stayed behind with Reliya a bit longer then anyone else though, and told her about the bad feelings she had been having. Reliya, despite her sickness, had also felt that something besides her temperature was amiss. They both suspected trouble, but for now there was nothing they can do. Viko ate, and Reliya soon had her soup and juice. 

Aldoran's small fleet was close to Gaia. The drop pods were even closer. And at their present rate of gap bridging, they would likely land right outside Alexandria Castle.

And so ends the third chapter. This is the third chapter, right? Whatever. Review, please.

PS

I have decided that when I finish this, your Viko entertainment will not stop. Instead, I have a special surprise for all you loyal fans out there. You'll just have to wait until I'm finished to find out! Peace.


	4. The power of Viko

You're dying to know what the surprise is, aren't you? I'm not gonna tell you. Not for a while, you'll just have to wait. Anyway, here is the fourth chapter.

4

The feast lasted for about five half-hours. After the summer salad had been devoured, wine of all sorts, and some berry juice for Viko, was served, along with dinner rolls and butter. Soon after came one of Quina's specialties, a fresh fish from the harbor, grilled to perfection, covered in a delicious cream, and served in little squares with harpoon-like toothpicks in each one. Also made available to whoever wished it was leek and onion soup, and for deserts, a triple berry pie a la mode was served. The group ate so much so fast that they all got the hiccups.

After the hiccup riot calmed down, Viko thought she was ready to attempt another combi spell. However, good food had a habit of making Viko extremely tired. She only got about a third of the way through her spell forming before she nodded off in mid-chant. No one wanted to wake a sleeping child as precious as her; not even Dagger, who was dead set on reviving her daughter, wanted to disturb her. So, Viko was placed in the guestroom, and tucked in gently. 

While Viko and Reliya both rested, gathering their strength, Zidane, Dagger, Eiko, Vivi, Quina and Beatrix began catching up with each other. Beatrix had been working with Regent Cid on developing a new weapon for their armies to use should it ever be necessary. Of course, they weren't allowed to divulge any specifics about it yet, but they were close to being done. Quina droned on in an almost incomprehensible slur for a while as he talked about his new recipes, and Eiko and Vivi talked about their daughter and how great she had been doing.

The hour did draw late, however, and soon enough everyone went to bed. It was as they all slept that Viko had a very frightening dream. She was floating in what seemed to be empty space, surrounded by bright stars. She looked around, and saw that below her position was a planet. Somehow, she knew it was Gaia. Looking behind her, she saw a dark shape moving against the blackness, so that it was almost impossible to tell that it was even there. But soon enough its color became brighter, and she could see that it looked something like the sketches of the _Invincible_ that her mother had shown her a while ago. What was it doing here, she wondered?

Quite suddenly, more similar figures appeared. They seemed menacing to Viko, so she looked away, back down towards Gaia. T her horror, she saw that large explosions were occurring all across the planet. Though she wanted to turn away, she felt paralyzed in fear. But something finally made her turn around. That was when the shooting started. 

All of the figures had grouped over to two sides, and they began firing beams of energy at each other, followed soon after by volleys of projectiles. And after that came the waves of smaller figures, flying at each other, some from empty space, others from the bowels of the larger ships, blowing to pieces as energy lanced through them. Blood began to spill out into space. Viko thought she was going to hurl. 

Instead, she began choking. In fact, it seemed as if there was no longer any air for her to breathe. Struggling, she kicked her legs as if in an attempt to get to the surface of a body of water. Her efforts were futile, though. And just when it seemed as if she would suffocate, she returned to reality, bolting upright to a sitting position, her brow drenched with sweat, and her breathing heavy. She looked around the room; indeed, it was the guestroom at Alexandria castle. To her right and left were her father and mother, and everything seemed to be all right. Placing a hand to her chest, she breathed deep.

"Ugh. What a nightmare," she said to no one in particular. Quite suddenly, she realized she was thirsty. Still in her day clothes, which mimicked the kind her mother had worn when she was young and travelling, she crawled softly out of bed so as not to disturb her parents. There was no need to wake them, since all she was doing was getting a drink of water. However, the night held many more events for the pre-teen girl.

Quite suddenly, there was a huge CRASH that made the entire castle shake. _Well, so much for letting them sleep,_ thought Viko. Well, she wasn't just going to let this huge crash go uninvestigated. She had to see for herself what had made it. As it happened, a good number of Alexandrian soldiers had already rushed out to check on the noise. When they left the castle interior, they had seen a group of steam pockets rising from the moat, and it seemed as though water had been disrupted in the area. When one soldier leaned over to see what she could see in the depths, her head was melted clear off her shoulders by a sudden blast of energy. Following the blast was a concussion wave that knocked the group of soldiers on their butts. They were the first people to see the ghostly figures of Aldoran's soldiers as they rose from the water, clad in some strange sort of armor, and carrying weapons similar to those the Clariyan warriors had. It didn't take long for one of them to call out.

"Charge!"

The group rushed at the strangers, but their swords clanked harmlessly off the armor and they all fell down as a result. Before they could get back up again, each of them found a blast of energy lancing through some vital part of their body; chest, gut, or head. The group had been annihilated without ever standing a chance. Soon enough, the rest of the squad rose from their waterlogged drop pods, totaling up to a good 40 soldiers. 38 of them stood at a parade rest position, while the remaining two stood in front of them to address them. It was the Major and his Lieutenant.

"Congratulations men. You've just landed on an alien planet and participated in the destruction of 8 of their natives. Are you ready to do more?" the Major asked.

"Sir, yes sir!" each person called out.

"Then form up and follow me! We're going to pay a visit to the folks inside," the Major commanded, jerking a thumb at the castle. The Lieutenant was next to bark at them.

"You heard him, folks! FORM UP!"

And, in an instant, they formed two rows, and followed the Major and Lieutenant as the marched into the castle, and straight into Viko.

* * *

"Has anyone seen Viko?" Vivi called out, he and his wife having left the guest room after hearing the crash. Beatrix, Zidane and the others all spilled out into the hall, shaking their heads.

"No, haven't seen her anywhere. What the heck is going on here, anyway?" asked Zidane. Dagger shook her head and shrugged.

"No idea. Why don't we find out? I've got a bad feeling about it," she suggested. The four friends all headed down the stairs, and soon enough confronted Beatrix and Quina. All of them edged along slowly. When they reached the balcony over the main entryway, they were shocked silly to see a fight between Viko and many strange looking creatures underway.

* * *

When Viko had first seen them, her reaction was to ask who they were. When they raised their guns at her, she had to rethink her confrontation strategy. Quickly she rose a Reflect spell around herself, and when the energy blast from the leader's gun shot off at her, it bounced right back at him. He ducked quickly, and it struck the unfortunate person behind him through the head. That was one less invader to worry about.

"You just got yourself in a whole lot of trouble, little girl!" shouted the Major. It had surprised him as much as Viko when the Reflect spell disabled the guns, but he wasn't phased for long.

"Attack!" he shouted. The group rushed at the girl, fully prepared to beat the shiznat out of her. She held up her palms, and suddenly she remembered the spell she had tried to recall on the _Narciss_. Flare.

"FLARE!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. The group's charge was cut short when the massive energy build up occurred smack dab in their face. In fact, it knocked them down. The Major was quick, though, and got out of the way before the spell went active. The Lieutenant and the five other unlucky people who the spell loomed over, however, were not as lucky. When the Flare went off, the five were incinerated, and the Lieutenant went sharply unconscious with a series of heavy burns across him. 

* * *

"Who else wants to charge at a **little girl**, huh?" they heard Viko scream from the balcony. All but one of the group rushed to the stairs to get down and aid her, but Dagger had a different plan. She had figured out that scum was trying to get inside her castle. Well, she figured that Bahamut wouldn't be happy about that. She had called on him, and soon enough, the mighty dragon was hovering just outside the castle's main entrance. The Major shouted at his group.

"Don't just stand their like idiots, attack her!" he screamed. At the exact same time, with eyes shut tight, Dagger whispered Mega Flare. Bahamut screeched, and the mighty blast of energy shot right through the gate and into the Major. The next thing anyone in his squad knew, there was a massive explosion of swirling energy, and they were history. In that swift moment, the invaders had been defeated. Aldoran would not be happy when he heard. Especially not when he would discover that the Lieutenant was being held and interrogated.

* * *

As it happened, Aldoran had bigger problems to worry about. His small fleet of ships was just about to take up high orbit over Gaia, when his T.O. informed him of a massive energy signal on the radar. In fact, it seemed as if it was a group of ships from the enemy, the Hyulrien, which was interested in the exact same area of territory. Aldoran cursed under his breath as he realized the cunning of it all. The Hyulrien would begin building a base right in the corner of his eye, then when he least expected it, would lash out and cause him severe damage. In fact, it seemed as if there would not be any large forces reporting here if things continued the way they were.

If he succeeded and destroyed the approaching enemy ships, they would send in a force just large enough to combat him, but their main forces would still be right where he was sending his own. And if intelligence had told him anything useful, it was that the enemy was building up a massive army. His forces would be crushed! It was time to think like the genius tactician he was. Somehow, he knew he would think of something.

He had no clue that one girl on the planet below his ship would change it all.

So what do you think? Cheesy, corny, or wonderful and delightful? Your opinions do matter folks, and all that I really care is that you review. What's the point in putting up your stuff if no one will review? You can't tell if anyone's read you or not. Anyway, PEACE as always, and just sit tight for that surprise. Those of you who have seen some of my other work know that it will be wonderful.


	5. Viko's potential?

Okay, it was cheesy, and I apologize. My writing has been in a funk lately. But I'll get back in the swing soon enough. At least, I hope so. Anyway, enjoy the fifth chapter. And why is it so late? School is evil. And other projects have inspired me.

5

Viko sat panting on the floor. What had she done? She had completely lost herself in the heat of battle. Now that she was coming back to her senses, she realized that someone... no, not someone, it was her who had done that huge amount of damage. She had taken the lives of many just then... she shuddered at the thought. What would her parents think when they found out their daughter was a murderer?

"Viko!" Vivi and Eiko shouted at the same time, rushing down the stares. Dagger breathed deeply, and then followed the two, with Zidane following her, and Quina and Beatrix following him. Viko started crying softly, and right away her parents were on their knees at her side, with hands on her shoulders, and Eiko speaking in a concerned voice.

"Honey, are you hurt?" she asked. Viko sniffled, and then shook her head. Vivi surveyed the damage that had taken place, and shook his head silently. He had no idea that his daughter was so powerful, and it was almost frightening. 

"What did I do...?" Viko moaned pitifully. Eiko stroked her head lovingly, her voice gone soothing now.

"It's okay, Viko. You didn't do anything wrong, and everything's fine now," she assured her. Viko released herself from her mother's grip and stood up, looking furiously to Eiko's shocked face. Everyone else just stood there silently.

"What do you mean, nothing wrong? I killed people, mom! Living people! And I... I'm not even sure why, or how. What were they here for anyway?" she asked, plopping down on her butt. Eiko struggled to find the right words, while Vivi speculated about his daughter. Beatrix made her way to the unconscious form of the Lieutenant. Crouching down, she examined his face. She could see that his eyeballs were moving the slightest bit beneath their lids. She stood up, then turned back to the others and beckoned for Zidane and Dagger to come over.

"Your Highness! Your Majesty! This one is still alive!" she called out. Zidane was there in a flash, Dagger quick to follow. Everyone else stayed where they were, but turned their attention to the King and Queen. Zidane did the same as his General had once done, and nodded.

"Still alive all right. What should we do with him, Beatrix?" he asked. Beatrix was, after all, the most knowledgeable person on warfare tactics, and it was quite likely that these men had come to start a war. She had her answer in an instant.

"We disarm him, then take him into custody. When he comes around, we'll interrogate him," she said with a commanding tone. Zidane nodded.

"Right. In the mean time, we'll need to tell the other nations about this; we don't know where the base of operations for these people is, so they could strike anyone, anywhere. Then, we'll need to see what we can do with these," he said, picking up one of the guns they had been holding. He was surprised to find it heavy, and as he turned it over in his hands, he almost dropped it. Once again, Beatrix had something to say.

"Cid would know what to do with those. We might even be able to use them with our weapons experiment," Beatrix informed them. It was at that point that Steiner and his Pluto Knights had shown up, ready to do battle. They were all rather disappointed when they saw it was over. Beatrix shook her head disapprovingly, though a smile was on her face.

"What took you so long, Steiner?" she asked. Steiner opened his mouth to give an answer, then closed it when no answer came. The truth was that the Pluto Knights and their captain had been sound asleep, and when they had awoken, there had been so much confusion that it took them some time to get their armor on and get out of the barracks. But even though Steiner knew his love Beatrix knew that, he didn't want to have to admit it.

"Never mind. See this man? Take him into custody. Do what you have to in order to get off his armor, and then put him in the dungeon," she told him. He snapped a smart salute to her, then got to it.

"Right away, Beatrix," he said. Zidane had a few things to add.

"This weapon, make sure that it gets to Cid. He needs to see what he can figure out about it. And while you're there, tell him to be on guard. We may be under some sort of attack," Zidane told Steiner. He nodded, taking the weapon, also surprised by its weight.

"I shan't fail you, Zidane."

After these many years, Steiner had finally learned to call Zidane just that. It was certainly a relief to the thief-turned-king. With that said and done, Steiner directed the Pluto Knights to pick up and carry the Lieutenant to the Dungeon, while he carried the weapon behind them. He would take it to the airship after he finished extracting the soldier from his armor, which proved to be far heavier then anything the Alexandrian soldiers wore. Beatrix became aware of the fact that another battle could occur soon, and so she left to prepare her troops for the war that was sure to come. Quina, being the Qu that s/he was, began tasting the armor of the invading soldiers. Dagger and Zidane left to inform the rest of the castle and send a pilot to Burmecia, and check on their daughter as well. That just left Eiko, Vivi and Viko in the middle of the entry chamber.

"Viko... they were trying to kill you. You were just defending yourself. There's nothing wrong with that," Eiko assured her daughter, vaguely recalling the first time she joined up with Zidane. She had killed her share of living, thinking, feeling creatures, and it hurt each time she did it. But it was kill or be killed in this cruel world, far too many times for a small child. Though Viko was many years older then her mother had been when it all started. Vivi could do no more then keep his silence. How had his daughter become so vastly powerful?

When Vivi was her age, he couldn't have done something like that, and she wasn't even fully black mage. Then again, maybe that was the source of her strength. Perhaps she possessed all of the powers of both white and black magic, but none of the inherit restrictions. Quite a fascinating theory; they would definitely have to talk to Doctor Tot about it. Viko just cried softly, staring at her palms.

"What am I?" she murmured. Eiko held her close, and quite suddenly felt a small prick against her chest. When she looked into Viko's face, she discovered her horn was there, and sharp. In fact, it was almost wickedly sharp; certainly not like Eiko's had been at that age. Their daughter was simply a child of mysteries.

"Mom, what am I?" Viko asked pitifully. Eiko couldn't think of anything to say. Vivi came to her salvation, though.

"You're a black summoner. And it may sound bad, but you're even sweeter then I was at your age, and I was and still am a black mage. All that matters about you is who you want to be. Any magic you happen to use along the way to make you that person is only for other people to speculate over. It doesn't matter what other people think about what you're doing, unless it's something truly bad. But you, Viko, aren't capable of that. Because that's who you are: a sweet little girl who's made her parents very proud," Vivi told her sincerely. Viko stared into his shining yellow eyes, and she smiled, wiping her face clear.

"Thanks, dad."

Eiko looked up to him and smiled widely. She was also thankful that she married such a great man. 

"You thirsty?" Vivi asked. She nodded.

"Let's get some juice then. Come here!" Vivi said, lifting Viko up and placing her on his shoulders. Viko started giggling a little. Vivi had a knack for restoring innocence in people. Another one of the many reasons that Eiko had married him. They would just have to forget about this for now. The poor girl was still expected to heal Reliya, after all.

* * *

Aldoran had gone over his situation thoroughly, and there just didn't seem to be any good choices. He certainly wasn't happy when his Tactical Officer informed him that his invasion company had been utterly annihilated, save for the Lieutenant's armor, and that read as having been removed. So, if he was going to take over this planet and start harvesting, he would have to send down a full invasion force, or so it seemed. And expending such valuable resources would be foolish when the Hyulrien scout fleet was drawing so close. He would need every pilot and every shock troop at his disposal if he was going to fight them off, which he would have to do if he stayed here much longer. But if he couldn't invade the planet, then there was no point in staying here at all, except for keeping the Hyulriens from doing exactly that. 

But what would he do if he ordered a retreat? Even if his main attack force was able to pull back, they would practically be sitting ducks. The Hyulriens would control Gaia, and pump out even more of their ships. It would only be a matter of time then before they were all destroyed. Unless... Aldoran began getting an idea. There had been reports that it was just a few people who had taken out his soldiers. If he could get them on his side, then there was no telling what he might be able to do! Of course, explaining the politics of a space war was a difficult thing to do when the listening party was still figuring out the mechanics of electricity. But still, it was a possibility. Probably his best one, too. 

He sent an order to his main attacking fleet to pull back, and relocate any orbital stations to this area. Not even the Hyulriens would attack undefended civilian planets; though they might get their hands on the resources, there weren't that many left anyway, and the manpower they would need to harvest whatever was left would rather deplete their shipboard forces. They had too much honor and not enough knowledge about the war to add something like enslavement to their repertoire of war crimes, should they lose. Crippling the enemy military was all that mattered, and the Hyulriens wouldn't have an easy time doing that with all of his forces massed in one place. It seemed, to Aldoran, like the only sensible thing to do.

Then again, since fighting this war anyway was completely insensible, nothing done within it could qualify as an intelligent decision. But Aldoran had a duty to his misguided people. He had to fight. 

And that's all for now folks. Who knows when the next chapter comes? Guess you'll find out eventually. It's not my problem. Peace, I'm out. 


	6. Healing by Viko

CHAPTER SIIIIX! Hurray! Enjoy, folks. I think at this current rate, I'll have around 10 chapters, minimum. We'll see.

At Alexandria Castle, things were starting to shape up. Everyone knew what had transpired the night before, and Zidane was set up to address the people about the situation. Beatrix was off with the beam weapon to see what she and Cid could figure out about it, while the Lieutenant held captive had just entered the interrogation process. Quina was back in the kitchen making food, and Viko, despite the massive amount of energy she had spent that night, was ready to help Reliya more. As a matter-of-fact, Eiko and Dagger were ready to try their hands at adding to her combi-spell, to aid the process. Vivi was with the three white mages for moral support.

The people of Alexandria gathered in the courtyard of the castle while Zidane stood up on the balcony, and started his speech.

"People of Alexandria! As I'm sure you all know, we were attacked last night by a strange and unknown force. At first, they seemed very powerful, but we were able to defeat them with relative ease!"

Cheers and applause rang through the assembly.

"However! We do not know where they came from, or how powerful they really are. It is predicted that they will attack us again, and we will have to be ready to defend against them. We have sent airships to inform all of the other peoples in this world, so that they will not be caught unaware! Furthermore, we have captured one of the enemy alive, and are interrogating him as I speak!"

More cheers and applause came out. Zidane was a very good speaker; he had been good long before he became King, and that position elevated his skill.

"And I have even more good news, loyal citizens of Alexandria! Your princess, my beloved daughter Reliya, is pulling out of her sickness! Soon-" 

Zidane didn't get to finish. The ovation roared over his voice, and he didn't even bother to try and finish his sentence after that. Eventually, the applause settled down, and he started up again.

"Soon she will be fully active again. And though this is truly wonderful news, I have to ask you to keep alert. Even you can help us in the fight that is sure to come. Be sure to report anything suspicious, and always keep a weapon of some sort in reach. Just aim for their head; their armor is too tough. Remember what we all had to go through to keep this place beautiful. We won't let anyone undo that!"

Much more cheering followed.

"Go back to your lives, citizens. May the light of Alexander guide your path."

A more formal applause followed, then the people dispersed. Except for one person, though; he was tall and lanky, and dressed in dark clothing. Apparently no one expected to see suspicious activity so early, so only the guards started to notice him. When they began to question him about his movement into the castle, he dashed off at high speed. And so a chase began. Meanwhile, as Zidane had said, the interrogation was underway. The Lieutenant was in a one piece, loose body suit, colored a simple gray with a patch over the heart displaying a dragon with some strange lettering on it. He was placed upright in between four pegs; two tied to each of his armpits, and the other two tied to his wrists. His legs were also tied firmly to another set of pegs, so he couldn't kick out at them, and his head was forced tilted back by a wooden bar. Since he was of course reluctant to talk at first, they were adding another element to the torture as well. Water dripped very slowly, drop by drop, onto his forehead. He couldn't move his head to avoid it, and he couldn't wipe it from his forehead. But he was a strong, determined military man. He could take it.

Steiner was growing impatient with this man's persistence. Any normal man would have given up long before now, but this officer was obviously more then any normal man could hope to be. Steiner moved in to have a talk. He sent a swift punch into the man's gut, and received a grunt in response.

"Talk, mendicant!" he demanded. The man chuckled. He understood what he was saying quite plainly, due to a translator chip implanted in his auditory cortex, but anything he said would sound like gibberish to the knight. If he had his body armor on, then the communicator would translate it in a frequency that directly effected the brain, so that everyone could understand it, even if his or her ears were broken. So, there was no point in him saying anything anyway, but as long as he was being interrogated, he might as well say something.

"My commander is Aldoran," he said, not able to come up with anything else at the moment, though still chuckling. Steiner stared blankly at him.

"What did he just say? It sounded even more muddled then the speech of Qus, Moogles, and Dwarves, blessed be their souls, mashed together! Does anyone here understand it?" he asked his group of knights. They all shook their heads or said "no" plainly. Steiner was frustrated, but how could he tell if this was just some game or if the enemy actually didn't understand him? Well, if he didn't understand, there was no point in torturing him, and it didn't seem as though he was going to stop playing this game anyway. So Steiner had him taken down and thrown back into a prison cell. The Lieutenant would soon have a cellmate, as the castle guards had caught the suspicious man.

Beatrix and Cid had gotten together with the strange beam weapon, and instantly began figuring out how it worked and how they could put it to their own use. In fact, it seemed like they might be able to incorporate it into the special project they had been working on. Meanwhile, Reliya was sitting up weakly with the help of many soft pillows, Dagger at her right, Eiko and Viko at her left, and Vivi at the foot of the bed.

"Okay everyone," he began, "let's get this right. I've got faith in you ladies, so show Reliya and I what your white magic can do!" The three nodded.

"Okay... I'll start the combi-spell," Viko said, doing just that. The pale ball of white energy floated in the air above Reliya, with Curaga, Regen, Esuna and Panacea in it all at once. "Now you two, focus your spells on the combi-spell, and we'll make it really big!" she commanded. Dagger and Eiko nodded, chanting their spells into the spell ball. Reliya smiled softly as she felt her horn start to tingle. Viko was already getting tired, but the spell was huge already; it was bigger then Reliya's head. Soon, all three were out of energy, and they moved the spell into Reliya. As before, she sucked it up through her horn, and there was a bright white flash. Eiko, Dagger and Viko all fell on their butts from the energy needed to cast the spell, and Reliya coughed softly. She looked a lot better, though; the color returned to her cheeks, and she was already feeling healthier. Perhaps all she had left was a mild cold. 

"Hey! I feel really good!" she declared. Everyone was overjoyed, despite their massive energy spending. Reliya was extremely confident in her new health; she put her feet out to the side of the bed, and stood up. Immediately she suffered a head rush and fell in to her mother's arms, who had gotten up by now.

"Reliya, honey, are you okay?" she asked, helping the girl to her feet. Reliya smiled at her mother, nodding. "Yes, I'm fine, thanks to you three," she said, looking from her mother to Eiko to Viko. Then she coughed rather harshly.

"Ugh... so I'm still sick. But it's not nearly as bad as it was before!" she declared. Everyone met that with agreement and affection for her. Dagger made a proclamation. "We must have a celebration! The entire kingdom has been waiting for you to pull out of this, so we need to do something spectacular to commemorate it! Who's with me?" 

Everyone was. Quina popped in just then. "Someone say celebration? You need food for celebration!" s/he exclaimed, bursting into the room with his/her tongue waggling in the air. "Uncle Quina!" Reliya and Viko both exclaimed, pouncing on him with a hug. Everyone laughed.

"You better Reliya?" s/he asked. She nodded.

"Great! Quina make food now," s/he said, running out as fast as s/he came in. Spirits were high in that room. On the bridge of Aldoran's ship, however, things were not so well. Aldoran's spy had been captured by the guards, and was being imprisoned. Well, he would be able to get some feedback from the Lieutenant, then, but it wasn't going to help him contact the strong warriors on that planet. It seemed he would simply have to do a planet-bound teleport and drop right into the royal chamber if he intended to get anything effective done. Oh well. That could be arranged. Until then, he would just have to wait and see what his spy dug up. And hope that the Hyulrien fleet didn't come too soon; the last thing he needed was to have even more dangers come when he was trying to make them less dangerous. 

That very spy had just been thrown into the cell with the Lieutenant, and the very first thing the Lieutenant noted was the man's shirt. It had the same insignia on it, which read "Dragolay" (DR-AH-go-lay), the name of their branch of the Trilan military. The spy apparently noted the same thing on the Lieutenant, and more so did he recognize the man's face.

"Lieutenant Boris?" he asked.

"Aye. Who are you?" Boris asked nonchalantly from his sitting position against the wall. The spy stood up straight and saluted.

"Sir, this is Sergeant Rel, spy of the 5th division. You were transferred out when you got promoted, remember?" Rel inquired. Boris' eyes lit up a bit.

"Rel? It couldn't be you; I haven't seen you for ages! You've certainly made something of yourself! Not so flabby anymore, eh?" Boris chuckled softly. Rel nodded.

"Yes sir, that's how I got to be a spy. I came here to get a word in with the people who decimated your attack group; Commander Aldoran wants to enlist them!" he quickly stated. Boris nodded.

"That makes sense. Aldoran's not as dumb as some people think. Well anyway, you must be new to the spy job, since they caught you. What happened?"

"Well, I was careless. I thought that these medieval goons wouldn't think to stop someone if he was really careful about how he moved. I was definitely wrong! But don't worry, I can get us out of here; I just didn't want to make a commotion in the middle of the castle."

Boris laughed. "Great! So you aren't as dumb as some people think, either, eh Rel? So what do you have in mind?"

"Well, I've got a small little cloaking device that will basically make us invisible, though still hearable," he said, reaching into his pocket, "and a light-weight laser cutter."

"I see. Then what?"

Rel chuckled a bit. "What else? We pay a visit to the King and Queen, and tell them that 'we now come in piece because we see that your warriors are stronger then ours, and would like to ask you for help.' Think it'll work?"

Boris shrugged. "I've seen dragon beasts appear out of thin air and blow up my squad of troops, a little girl who reflects laser fire and can blow up people just as effectively as the dragon, and a guy who looks like a man but he has a tail. I think that anything will work now."

The both chuckled softly, then got to work on getting out. First, Rel contacted Aldoran, and received both criticisms and congratulations on his methods of espionage. Aldoran gave them the go-ahead, and soon they were free. Things were about to get a lot more complicated.

And so ends my sixth chapter... my seventh chapter will come when I feel like it. Long live Vivi + Eiko fics, and peace to you all.

Rusty

PS

REVIEW!!!!!!!!

PSS

Please. 


	7. Viko: Recruited

Chapter Seven. Isn't life wonderful? Oh, and for those of you, who still remember, I really do intend to give you that special surprise once I finish this fic! And if all goes according to plan, it will make this the best quartet in Viko existence. One other thing I would like to mention: I do NOT own the ansible; that invention regards solely to the genius known as Orson Scott Card, who has made my life so much better. Now, back to your regularly scheduled Viko fic reading.

Major Garel of the Hyulrien fleet approaching Gaia was not, to say the least, in a good mood. He had been travelling on the flagship of this sluggish scouting fleet for what had to be months by now. And that was in subjective time! Even though this fleet was at sub-light speed, he still moved through time more slowly then a person on a planet. So years must have passed since he left his station back at fleet HQ, and if he ever made it back, his life would be over. So Garel made the simple decision to gripe about it until they found something worth doing.

As far as Garel knew, Gaia wasn't even worth invading. Despite Aldoran's quick conclusion that Garel must be here to start building an outpost, Garel actually had little idea where he was. In fact, he cared so little about this foolish war, he had gone off course, just to tick off his Commander. It wasn't like they could catch him, anyway. In reality, he was only helping, because he discovered quite by accident that he was traveling straight through a previously unnoticed portion of Aldoran's territory! Of course, when his scanners picked up the other fleet, his spirits dropped to an all time low.

Deciding to keep a cool head, Garel had been figuring out how he was going to get past that fleet, if he even wanted to. After all, why should he? He had already been branded a traitor; he knew that by the almost constant ansible transmissions he received. An ansible was a very powerful device that allowed instantaneous transmission of radio waves, due to something called a philotic connection, which in essence didn't exist, but still worked. The two philotes would hold some connection with each other that had absolutely no mass, inertia or volume, only a place in the universe. No one really understood the function, but ever since a mad scientist of sorts discovered it by accident, it became standard issue to all space naval fleets. 

At any rate, Garel understood that even if he did loose the traitor mark, he'd never make it back in time to get anything done with his old life. Since he didn't want to start a new life, especially not with the risk of losing it to the enemy, he decided that he would play it by ear. He didn't know what the war was about, and he didn't know which side was right, he just knew that he wanted it all to end. Whether his crew agreed with him or not was of no consequence; there was nothing more for them in life, so they would launch an attack on that fleet, in the hopes that it just might help one side win. Planning it was the hard part, though, because his fleet was smaller, and he wanted the attack to be successful. For a while he had been tempted to surrender, but he thought they might be blown to pieces if he did that. 

So Garel had no choice but to plan for the worst, hope for the best, and think of some way to out maneuver the enemy fleet. On Gaia, other people were having troubles. For instance, Cid was really having a hard time figuring out how the weapon retrieved from the invaders worked. For reference, they code-named the weapon a Fireshot, because whatever it hit had a tendency to catch on fire. Figuring out how it did that was the hard part. But while Cid and his group of highly trained engineers tried to figure it out, Beatrix and the rest tended to their special project.

When she first saw the device, she was impressed with the progress they had made. They were working on designing a material that could deflect massive amounts of heat, instead of absorbing it, like most metal did. And so far, they were doing an impressive job. A bit of black magic fire had been incorporated into a heated mixture of metals, and the end result was a metallic substance with a fire elemental. It absorbed much less heat then a regular metal, but it still wasn't what the group wanted. 

"Perhaps is we could incorporate a reflect spell into the mixture, it would work," suggested one engineer. There were murmurs of agreement from the others.

"Sounds good to me. But where are you going to get a reflect spell?" Beatrix questioned. "As far as I know, only three people know that particular spell, and they're quite busy at the present."

"Well, maybe if we added in some water magic, heat would become ineffective against it," though another. Once again, there were murmurs of agreement.

"It might work, but there is a chance that it will undo the fire elemental. Then again, that just might make it more effective," added Beatrix. "It sounds plausible enough. Get to work on that, gentlemen. I'm going to see what Cid has figured out."

"Yes ma'am!"

* * *

Steiner was running his Pluto Knights through the basics of marksmanship. The armor of the invaders seemed too cumbersome, but the Fireshots seemed to be an ideal weapon. So, as the rest of the Alexandrian army trained to make their General proud, the Knights of Pluto learned how to aim and shoot. It was far more difficult then archery training, for certain, because each time they hit a target, it needed to be replaced, and each time they missed, they blew off a chunk of something. Eventually, they got a long strip of land cleared out, so that the shot would die out before it hit anything, or anyone. So wrapped up was everyone in their training that no guards were left in the dungeon. Rel and Boris could have escaped without the cloaking device.

Everyone else was gathered at the banquet to celebrate Reliya's return to good health. Zidane and Dagger sat next to each other at the head of the table, with Reliya and Viko at one of their sides, and Viko's parents on the other. Quina and the others invited to the feast sat wherever there was room, and they all enjoyed the delicious assortment of plates that Quina and his group of chefs had prepared. And as they dug into the food, there was quite a disturbance. Because the cloaking device that Rel and Boris were hiding under had suddenly decided to blip out, and exposed them standing right behind the King and Queen. No one noticed at first, because it had been noiseless, but when Reliya looked up to her mother, and saw two scary men standing behind her, she shrieked.

"Ahh!" she called, almost falling out of her seat. Viko caught her, then saw the two as well. Soon everyone at the table was standing up and staring them down. Boris looked like he had just eaten something too sour and Rel chuckled nervously.

"Uh... how's everyone doing?" he asked nonchalantly. There was no response, and at first he thought they were just not in the mood to chat. But Boris nudged him and gave him a reminder.

"Your translator, dummy. They can't understand you!"

Rel almost slapped himself on the forehead, but instead activated the waveform emitter that turned Boris' and his speech into something they could understand. He tried again.

"We, uh, come in piece," he said lamely. The look of confusion on everyone's face turned to a cold stare. But Reliya just pointed at Rel.

"You! I know that voice, and your face looks familiar!" she called out. Rel looked at her, and shook his head.

"I've never seen you before, milady, but if I trusted my instincts more, I'd probably say you look familiar somehow."

Boris continued to look sour.

"Hey, what's going on here anyway?" demanded Zidane. While Rel and Reliya studied each other briefly, Viko staring over her shoulder, Boris answered the question.

"This is a recruiting mission. I'd like to lay down a few things for you," he said. Then Zidane recognized the face.

"Hey! Didn't we lock you in the dungeon?" he demanded. Boris chuckled softly.

"As if that could actually hold someone of the Dragolay Navy. I can't say I was looking forward to this, but I'll need to explain some interstellar politics to you. First of all: your entire planet is at stake. In fact, the only reason we didn't deliver a massive surface bombardment was due to a risk of damaging the resources here, and because of the time we would have to spend waiting for the atmosphere to cool down."

Everyone listened in silence. Even Reliya and Rel had sent their gaze to Boris as the explanations continued.

"What are you saying?" asked Dagger.

"I'm saying that your planet has become a hotspot of inter-planetary conflict. At this very moment, ships that travel between stars could be fighting for the right to invade this place. And believe me, when one of them wins, things much more powerful then my squad will be coming in to take over. Unless, of course, we have your cooperation, in which case we might not have to. Are you following me?" 

Most everyone nodded.

"Yeah, but why couldn't we just stop whatever force you send down here?" asked Zidane.

"Do you really want to take that chance? Imagine something with one hundred times the power of my entire squad put together. That is one single starship of my Commander's fleet."

Jaws dropped. Viko spoke up, though.

"He's bluffing. Either they aren't as powerful as you say, or you don't have anyway to bring them into an effective distance."

Boris chuckled. "Ah, little girl with so much power, what makes you so sure?" Viko stared at him harshly, while everyone watched on as the argument began.

"You're nervous. I can hear it in your voice, and I can see it on your face," she came back harshly.

"Like hell you can. You shouldn't judge people on whims."

"Don't tell me what or what not to do. Just tell us what you want," Viko demanded. Boris shrugged and chuckled once again.

"Fine. I'm here to gather up your strongest warriors so that we can have an advantage in the upcoming battles. It's quite simple, really. We have a device that you can channel your powers into, and it will turn it into a super powerful weapon. Not to mention the planet-bound battles we might need to take place in." Zidane considered for a while, but Viko already had more questions.

"Why are you fighting each other? Why does blood have to be spilled?" she asked, recalling the dream she had last night. The last thing she wanted to do was involve herself in that nightmare. Boris sighed softly.

"I'd tell you if I could. The problem is, I don't even know why. I don't think anyone does anymore; we Trilan have been fighting the Hyulrien for generations. No one even remembers the original conflict, but we're all so sure that it's important enough to continue that no one will stop it."

Once again, jaws dropped. Viko's eyes started to tear over.

"You mean you kill each other without even having a reason? Isn't there any other way?" she wailed. Boris got frustrated.

"Hey! You don't know what it's like. No one wants this war, but for all we know the Hyulrien could just be waiting for us to show a sign of weakness, so that they can obliterate us! Believe me, I'd give up if I could, but there's too much at stake."

Zidane took up a tone of command. "Okay, this is a lot of new information. You'll have to give us some time to think all of this over before we can give you an answer."

Boris nodded, understanding, but Rel interrupted.

"Um, sir, I just received a message from Commander Aldoran. It would seem as though we're to launch the siege weapon as soon as possible. And you know what that means..." he informed Boris. His look became grim.

"Very well," he said, casting his gaze over Dagger, Viko, Reliya, Vivi and Eiko. "You've just been recruited into the Dragolay Navy! Congratulations, and welcome to the first day of the rest of your lives, Privates."

Before anyone could even utter their distaste at the idea of being a private, the five who Boris had just looked over, as well as Rel and Boris himself, were enveloped in a white light. In a similar fashion to the teleporters that Zidane and company had seen in Kuja's desert palace, they shot up into the sky, and the next thing they knew, they were on the bridge of Aldoran's starship, staring the big man in the face.

And so ends chapter seven. I sure hope you've enjoyed it. Eight will come as soon as I feel like making it. Peace.

Rusty


	8. Destructive Viko

Here comes chapter eight. And if you think things are confusing now, just wait until you finish this chapter! I think it's going to be very confusing indeed. Anyway, we're looking at a minimum of 12 chapters, I think. My plan is to stop the war between the two space nations, but I might not be able to pull it off and have everything make sense. I'll see what I can do. Enjoy.

The members of the feast were left dumbfounded. Seven people had just disappeared before their eyes, two of which had appeared in a similar fashion. 

"What was that? Where everyone go?" Quina asked. No one could find the words. Zidane tried to stay in control of the situation, though.

"Well... I think we can conclude that this is something way out of our league. But does anyone have any ideas on what we can do?"

Silence.

"Okay then. What next?"

Everyone looked down at his or her food. And they would never have figured anything out if it weren't for the next couple of events. The first one was Beatrix arriving with very important news: they were close to reverse-engineering the Fireshot. More importantly, though, was another fact: multiple large objects had been seen falling down to the surface of the planet, and knowing what it was like the last time this happened, it was not a good thing. Battle preparations started going underway.

* * *

Vivi, Eiko, Dagger, Reliya and Viko were looking Aldoran straight in the face, and they didn't like what they saw. The man looked as though he had been awake for days, with bags under his eyes and his facial hair resembling that of a porcupine. His smile made things a little better, but not much so.

"Greetings, Privates," he said, all understanding him as the ship did the necessary translations. Eiko threw a conniption fit.

"PRIVATES? No, you did NOT just call me a private, mister! I am gonna burn you to a-"

Vivi interrupted. "What she means, sir," he began, placing a hand over her mouth and holding her still, "is that you obviously wouldn't have any use for privates, but you obviously have a use for us, so we couldn't possibly be of such a low rank."

Eiko began to relax, whilst her daughter tried to refrain from chuckling as Vivi used the powerful hold on her that he used to need for Viko. Reliya returned to looking at the one called Rel, and Dagger just shot concerned glances everywhere.

"You're absolutely right," Aldoran got through a hoarse voice condition. "And I'd love to promote each one of you, but we have a situation on hand that needs immediate attention."

He rubbed his eyes, then pointed towards a monitor hanging from the ceiling. It displayed a group of ships moving through space. Vivi released Eiko, who snorted a bit, but paid attention anyway.

"What are those?" asked Dagger. Aldoran pushed a button on a control panel, and the view began to zoom in.

"Those are the rear-guard fighters of my main attacking fleet. Those," he said, pointing to a series of dots in the background that the zooming had revealed, "are the advance fighters of the enemy's pursuing fleet. Both are on a course for Gaia, and it is likely that the fighting will occur in close enough proximity to the planet that any shot down fighters will have a crash landing on the surface. Regardless, the atmosphere will likely get a lot hotter, and in short, the planet will suffer some negative effects."

"What kind of negative effects?" Viko asked.

"Well, lots of plant life may perish, and any cities at a high altitude will suffer a drastic increase in temperature. The ice caps will begin to melt, so the level of the sea will rise... that's for starters. I'm not an ecologist; I'm a tactician. That's why I've brought you here. You see; this flagship has a siege weapon of sorts, very powerful as it is. But it won't be able to do much to the Hyulrien fleet. This is where you come in."

Viko's dream flashed through her mind again. "No!" she shouted. "I won't be a part of it!" 

Boris gripped her by the shoulders, and spoke. "You don't have a choice, little girl." Viko started struggling.

"Hey! What are you doing with her?" Eiko cried out. "Let me go!" Viko screamed.

"Shut up!" Boris demanded, picking Viko up and practically throwing her through an open doorway. He slammed the door shut, then pressed a button. Lights went on and revealed Viko to be inside a compartment of sorts. She beat against the window of the door. Everyone but Rel and Reliya --who had gone off into a dimension of their own in a way, contenting themselves with each other's conversation -- glared at Boris or Aldoran or both; whichever was closer or possible based on their positions. Aldoran looked miserable. He spread his arms out.

"I'm really sorry. Desperate times call for desperate measures. It's either them or your planet. I think you'd prefer them!"

Dagger promptly slapped Aldoran. "Don't you dare to presume what other people might think! Release her right now!" Aldoran stared back pitifully.

"Please. Try to understand."

Eiko and Vivi listened to them, but were eyeballing Boris and watching the door. Viko screamed at the top of her lungs, but no noise could escape that room. A uniformed person quickly showed up, saluting Aldoran and making a report.

"Sir! The siege cannon is fully prepped and trained on the enemy flagship! We're ready to fire on your mark."

"Do it."

There was a sucking sound of sorts from the room Viko was in, and then the entire ship shuddered violently as the blast went out. Viko collapsed, and the door opened up. Vivi and Eiko rushed to her side, while Dagger went to check on her daughter. But they all managed to watch the monitor as it showed the effects of the weapon. A bright ball of swirling, white and blue energy shot over Aldoran's ships. It even went past the enemy's advance fighters. Then, quite suddenly, it plopped straight down. There was a large flash of light that was so powerful they saw it not only on the monitor, but also dimly out of one of the flagship's windows. When it subsided, there were no more dots to speak of visible. Viko quickly took this in, and had her worst fears confirmed as every crewmember on board cheered. Boris patted her on the shoulder.

"Congratulations, kid. You've just helped us win a war."

Eiko, Vivi and Viko all stood up, Viko staring blankly forward.

"How many people did that kill?" she asked. Aldoran chimed in.

"Well, that shot gutted the enemy fleet. Must have been at least a thousand people. You really have a lot of power, kid! Good thing we decided not to kill you."

"A thousand?" Viko stuttered. Tears filled her eyes, and she fell down to her knees. Boris moved away from the three, and then one of the crew made another report to Aldoran.

"Sir! It seems the Hyulrien scout fleet has landed on Gaia! There are only a few small ships left in orbit. Surely they know of our presence here; what do you think?"

Rel spoke up before Aldoran could form a response. 

"It's a trap. Go in for the ships and you'll be ripped up by missile fire."

Everyone but Reliya gave him an odd look. 

"They've already moved into strategic positions across the planet. In fact, they'll probably start shooting soon."

Aldoran looked nervous. As if on cue, a warning siren blazed.

"Sir, we have multiple missiles coming up from the planet!"

Aldoran's response was immediate and instinctive.

"So they want to use the planet-dwellers as a shield? Dammit. Evasive maneuvers, and begin planetary bombardment!"

All of the Gaia-born gasped, and Reliya shrieked. "NO! You'd do more harm to yourself then to them if you did that!"

Rel seemed to understand, but Boris was the first to question.

"And what do you know of inter-planetary warfare, girl?" he asked her. She stared him in the face, bold and defiant, then coughed. She still had a cold.

"I know that those other ships you just forgot about will be able to take out huge portions of your fleet while you devote the energy you need to planet bombardment!"

Rel joined in.

"And, you'd be killing off one of the best available troops in a land force. This girl's father, Zidane, could prove to be very useful. And you would be surprised at what those planet-dwellers could do. Remember our laser guns? They've got plenty of them to use in aircraft, and they will probably have reverse engineered it in a few days, so they can mass-produce it. Such advanced engineers don't deserve-"

He never got to finish the sentence, because one of the missiles struck the hull of the ship, knocking all of them down. Aldoran immediately called for a damage report. When he heard that they had actually suffered minimal damage, he looked back at Rel and Reliya.

"Okay you two. It's obvious you know more then the rest of us. What is going on here?" he demanded. They exchanged quick glances, then began to tell their tale.

* * *

From the moment Reliya had seen Rel, she knew something odd was going on. While she was sick, she had dreamed of a person who looked exactly like Rel assisting her in saving the planet. Since she was sick, she didn't pay much attention to it, but seeing the man in person got her suspicious. And, while the others had engaged in their dilemmas, Rel and Reliya got to know each other a little better. At first, it seemed to be nothing more then coincidences; that the conclusions drawn must be obvious. But when they started telling each other things they shouldn't know, couldn't know, that was the clincher. It was obvious that something strange was occurring. And at exactly the same time, they both knew what it was.

Psychic.

It didn't make any sense; they had never had any sort of psychic powers before, so what should be so different about this time? They decided it had to be some sort of connection they had with each other, but that didn't make any sense either, because how could they possibly be connected? Maybe they were each half-psychic, and when in each other's presence they were able to tune into the other's powers, making themselves fully psychic. In doing so, they seemed to completely understand each other's thoughts. It was a strange experience for both of them, but they soon made sense of everything, and even discovered that they had a degree of telepathy. Reliya sent thoughts down to Zidane.

He was as spooked as anyone would be if they suddenly heard a voice in their head, but he got under control soon enough. Knowing that everyone was okay was good to hear. When he relayed to her the information that large objects had been seen falling, Reliya and Rel drew the conclusion that the Hyulrien fleet had landed. Once Aldoran realized this, they had already gone over most of it in their heads and begun developing strategy. And after Aldoran heard all of this, he wasn't sure what to think. He had been awake planning and worrying for too long now. He did know that he needed to get away from the missiles, though, and the only way he could think of to do that was to land the ships. So that was just the order he gave; to land the ships in the sea between the continents. 

"Well what about us?" Dagger asked. "What are we supposed to do?"

"Well, the way I see it, you five stay here and help power up our energy cannons. That way we can take out the enemy installations from a distance."

Viko's throat ached terribly. "No, I won't. These people haven't done anything to me, so why should I do anything to them?" she asked. No one could really come up with a good answer. And as Eiko and Vivi tried to sooth her, Reliya got a thought from Zidane.

"Everyone! Alexandria is under attack!"

That's chapter eight. May you thoroughly enjoy. 

Rusty


	9. Viko Summons

I am sooo sorry that chapter nine has come so late! I've just been totally strapped for time, trying to start a column, (which should appear as Writing: or something like it, and I would appreciate anyone reading it!), but I finally found a patch of time to work on this! So take a seat, and hold a stuffy close. Things are going to get ugly!

Chapter 9

Zidane, as King of Alexandria, had come to expect many things. He had come to terms with invaders from space; heck, this would be the third time creatures from another planet were threatening Gaia. First Terra, then that Clariyan disturbance, and now intergalactic wars. Why shouldn't he expect something so erratic as that? Well, he was also expecting an attack from one of these intergalactic races, after seeing the objects falling from the sky. He didn't expect it to come so quickly though, because the first wave caught him completely off guard, as he thought of Reliya, and how he might never see her bright face again, her adorable little tail. The Knights of Pluto were slightly more prepared - but not by much.

When the Hyulrien task force led by Major Garel first landed near Alexandria castle, in the middle of the day, his first goal was to fire his missiles at the Trilan ships. He did, eventually, but he was delayed by the information that certain civilizations on this planet had acquired laser guns. He wasn't ready to let them sneak up on him, but he didn't feel as though he needed to devote all of his strength to destroying them. He saw three possibilities; either the Trilan would survive his assault, and bombard the entire planet; survive the assault and land to commence a ground battle; or die from the attack. The last possibility was most preferable, and the least likely, whereas the first possibility was the least preferable, yet the most likely. In the event of the second possibility, Garel had divided his forces across the planet to hold strategic anti-reentry positions. The rest were sent on Lindblum and Alexandria.

He didn't expend much to each force, but knowing what he might be up against, he gave them more then a simple infantry squad. About forty of his armored and laser-toting soldiers were in each force, all packed into a series of APCs, (Armored Personal Carriers), each of those having some low-level artillery equipment. Accompanying each APC were two hover bikes, all having professional riders, each one carrying a sidearm to go with the twin-blasters at the front of each bike. Finally, each group had one heavy artillery platform. This was representative of the sheer size of the Hyulrien military: even a task force the size of Garel's was so large that it could easily accommodate over 80 soldiers and transports as shock troops. A full-scale invasion would probably have about ten times that much; even then, only coming from Garel.

No, the Knights of Pluto were not ready when that first artillery barrage came crashing down on the castle, barely avoiding incineration at the touch of the seething energy generated by the blast. But they moved quickly; in the short time of less then a day, the Knights of Pluto had their act together. The Alexandrian Army, now with Beatrix valiantly leading it, rushed onward towards the enemy. They didn't have that far to go, actually, since the high plains up there were rather small, in proportion to the charge they had led against the Clariyans, oh so many years ago. The Pluto Knights were with them, and were returning laser fire with great skill, considering their short practice time. Even Zidane and Quina rushed out to do whatever they could; Zidane for his Kingdom, Quina for the sake of finding some new delicacy from their far off planet. 

In Lindblum, things were going far better. Though they had only one Fireshot, they had an army of airships, which they mobilized very quickly. In fact, it had been ready and tracking before the force even arrived. Most of the artillery fire was shot out of the sky before it could do any damage, and there was no hesitation to use the same tactics that had worked so well in that not-forgotten war. Kegs and boxes of explosive powder were dropped down from high above, and the black mages shot down blasts of thunder at them. They had a complete advantage over the situation. Garel would not be happy about it.

Garel, however, was presently concerned with different matters. To his hate, the Trilan were alive, and he guessed they had somehow managed to blow a chunk out of the Hyulrien armada. It couldn't be confirmed, but just about everything on the Hyulrien ansible net had gone quiet. He had reopened the ansible link with HQ recently to let them in on his battle, and even though he hadn't gotten any response, it was still obvious that there was something wrong. And the Trilan were smarter then they looked; they hadn't fallen for his decoy trap! Yet for some reason, they weren't bombing the planet. So it would be a land battle after all, assuming Garel didn't blow them out of the sky before that could happen. Of course, even if that did happen, Garel would never live to see it.

He had set up HQ in a nook between a high plateau and a large, shallow hill, with plains on one end and forest on the other. He had no idea it was the Black Mage Village, filled with power he hadn't even thought of considering might be on this planet. Specifically, this power was Mikoto, and her husband Blank. Both were quite intense with their training, and had truly become forces to reckon with. And, when they saw the object falling from the sky, the decided to check it out. It wasn't long at all before they were sneaking about, and soon they had a perimeter patrol guard down and out. Blank, though he had only one good eye, made an excellent sniper rifle out of the laser gun provided by the fallen body. Mikoto stayed with Blank, knowing that as the members of this area noticed dead bodies, they would inspect for a sniper. Not wanting that to happen, they continued to slink about the camp, coming ever closer to Garel, and subsequently, his death.

* * *

"What do you mean, Alexandria is under attack?" demanded Dagger, who later reprimanded herself for speaking so harshly to her daughter. Rel and Reliya just nodded gravely in synchronous. With that settled, they all glared at Aldoran.

"What?" he asked questioningly. His mind was not at its best, now that he had been awake for so many days. Vivi already had plans forming in his mind, so he was the first to speak.

"We need to go defend our homes. You beamed us up here, so beam us back down! But, Reliya should stay here, I think."

Before Aldoran could answer, Dagger shrieked. "What! What makes you think I would leave my daughter here?" she demanded. Reliya answered for herself.

"Mom, I need to stay here so I won't get caught up in any fighting. This way, Rel and I can actively relay messages back and forth between places of danger. It would be too risky to have us anywhere else. Besides, Aldoran isn't going to put this ship in any danger. Isn't that right?" she asked, looking up at the grizzly man. He gave an odd chuckle, while Dagger just nodded softly.

"She's right. This ship is perfectly safe. Even if the Hyulriens launch another wave of missiles or other anti-reentry weapons, our pinpoint defense systems are active and ready to intercept anything they send at us. Unless they have the gall to use strike craft, which they won't, because strike craft would last for a few minutes in this planet's atmosphere. And I can see that none of you want to help power our energy cannons..." he said, looking across each of the faces. Eiko still hated him, just because she was Eiko, and stuck her tongue out at him. He chuckled a bit more in his odd way.

"Right then. Who's going where?" he asked. Unanimously, there came the response of "Alexandria." Aldoran had Boris punch in the coordinates, and Vivi, Eiko, Dagger and Viko all got on the patch of floor they had arrived from. 

"It was a pleasure having you with us," Aldoran said, almost sarcastically. "Go and kick some Hyulrien butt."

The white light flared up and transported the four away, Viko sniffling a bit, the others giving good-byes to Reliya. When the light subsided, they found themselves about 100 yards behind the charging Alexandrian army, and things were already starting to look ugly. Eiko and Dagger quickly started calling on summons like Ark and Madeen, almost out of instinct, while Vivi and Viko rushed into spell range. As for Aldoran's fleet, it landed without a scratch in the middle of the ocean, floating placidly as each ship began siege weapon preparations. The one Viko had powered would not again be usable for some times, as the plasma conduits were highly overheated, and another blast would completely fry them. But there were many lower scale weapons available for use. 

* * *

There was, of course, a reason that Aldoran's pinpoint defensive systems were never required. Each station had to receive orders before firing; for all they new, the ships could be friendlies, or they might have been commandeered, or any number of things. They saw ships coming down on radar, but never received the order to fire. The dear Major Garel was lying with his head smashed through a console, a number of his so-called 'elite' bodyguards lying on the floor around him. Mikoto and Blank made a powerful team indeed. 

It seemed as though Garel had deployed the bulk of his defensive forces in extended positions around the area, not expecting anything to come from within his perimeter of defense. A number of Black Mages had also decided to investigate the disturbance, and despite their normally peaceful disposition, they knew what came from this sort of people. They Black Mages had not forgotten the experience with the Clariyans, and they never would. So in a short amount of time, Garel and his HQ was completely destroyed, throwing his forces into total disarray. 

"Good job, Mikoto. I knew you were strong, but I never guessed that you could've punched your way straight through the back of a metal chair!" Blank commented, observing the work they had down on Garel's flagship. That was how they got rid of Garel; Blank caused a distraction by sniping one of the guards out, and then Mikoto rushed in and sent her fist straight through the back of Garel's chair, before he could even turn around, sending his face straight into the control panel. The other four soldiers needed a while to figure out what was going on, which was too long for them. Blank took out the next two, and Mikoto placed a double sidekick into the others' heads. That was what they got for not wearing their helmets. The rest was just simple hit and run tactics.

"Thank you, Blank. I was surprised, too. I didn't even expect it to be made of metal! I was thinking wood, or something along those lines. But hey, I guess training for all of these years really does a lot for your muscles, eh?" Mikoto responded, flexing her biceps for a bit. They were a perfect image of the musculature an angel of death should have. The two gave each other a quick hug, then tried to figure out what to do next.

"Well, I guess we should probably tell the others about this," suggested Blank.

"Yeah, but how?" Mikoto wondered. Suddenly, her expression went pale, almost confused. That was pretty freaky, since it was Mikoto, after all. Blank shook her firmly.

"Mikoto, are you okay?" he shouted. She came to with a jolt, then looked around.

"Yeah, I thought I heard something, but I couldn't tell where... there it is again! What? Huh?" she shoved Blank away, completely absorbed with what she was hearing. Blank decided he should leave her alone for a while, but he stayed to watch, just in case.

"Reliya? How can that be?" Blank heard Mikoto say. 

"Psychic? Where are you?" Mikoto demanded of no one, it seemed. She sat down suddenly, taking it all in. 

"What's going on?" Blank asked, not able to contain his curiosity anymore. Mikoto shook her head and shrugged.

"It would seem that Princess Reliya is speaking to me psychically from a ship from space that's resting on the ocean. And a lot has been going on, it seems. Where to begin?"

* * *

Viko looked up in the sky as a massive, mechanical beast opened up a hail of fire on the Hyulrien. She winced a bit, recognizing the creature as the Ark, the ultimate speller of darkness and destruction. And at the same time, she saw an aurora of color flow through the ground, as her mother's own Madeen bombarded the enemy with holy energy. It was quite an interesting compliment to the power of the Ark. Of course, they didn't seem to do as much damage as would be expected, and the Alexandrian army was suffering massive chunks of losses from artillery fire. The Hyulriens might be weakening, but the Alexandrians were getting discouraged. 

Viko also saw her father, struggling to keep up with his fast pace as he cast a few of his flare spells. Viko knew that she could help, but she just didn't want to. In fact, she stopped in her tracks, not wanting to go any further. The last thing that Viko was going to do was claim more lives then she already had. However, the fates seemed to have something else in mind, because as Eiko and Dagger prepared for another summoning, a stray shell of artillery fire headed straight for Viko. She shrieked in fear, and out of instinct, she put both of her palms up, and searched for a spell to cast. Yet she felt something else coming to her, something new and comforting. And, at the same time, she felt a cold fury building up inside of her, dark and painful. She could only think of one way to get rid of it, and every part of her being seemed to agree with her when she decided upon it. Even her horn was tingling. What happened next was truly astounding.

"Terra Homing!" shouted Eiko. Viko could almost hear herself shouting the same thing.

"Eternal Darkness!" came the cry from Dagger's mouth. Once again, Viko could feel a part of herself shouting the same thing. Then, as the both the bright energy and the dark energy swelled inside her, came her own shout.

"Yin and Yang!" she screamed. What was that, she wondered, having never heard it before. But all of the sudden she was relieved of her energy, and a spectacular event occurred. A stream of white and black magic shot out of her hands, and encompassed the artillery shell. Time seemed to stop for everyone but Viko, then, and the magic raced across the surface of the shell, mixing all of the energies there. And without warning, it exploded outward into a giant Yin Yang shape. Then, the two dots of the shape moved towards each other, and the black and white portions turned into what seemed to be a body. The eyes flashed, and then it appeared to be a regular sized, though oddly colored person. In another instant, warrior's robes sprouted all over the creature, and it approached Viko. It touched her cheeks with both hands, one of them soothing her, the other one stinging. She saw the creature nod softly, and then it turned around and jumped up into the air. Quite suddenly, time seemed to resume, and everyone saw the thing floating in the air. There was a bright flash of white, and then a massive flash of darkness, and the creature flew down towards the enemy at what seemed to be an impossible speed. It flew through all of them, and every vehicle, smashing the mechanical things apart, and doing something far more interesting to the biological substances.

All of the Hyulrien soldiers touched by the Yin Yang creature were given an expression of pure nirvana, but then in a few seconds turned to solid stone. But the Yin Yang wasn't done yet. It flew over all of the fallen Alexandrian soldiers, and slowly but steadily, all of their wounds healed and they stood back up. Its work done, the creature flew back into the sky, and returned once more to its namesake shape, then faded away. The battle was over, and everyone was baffled except for Viko. She was just tired beyond belief, and angry with herself once more for having taken so many lives. She fell over in a crying heap, longing for the days when her dad would 'teach' her a water spell, and then proceed to soak her mother. Those days would be no more.

Wasn't that freaky beyond belief? What do you think that was? OOH! Wait for the next chapter, and you'll find out! Till then, this is Rusty, saying Peace.


	10. What's in Viko?

Welcome to chapter ten, folks. Questions will be answered, then more questions will appear, and answers will be given to questions that don't exist yet... ah heck with it! Enjoy.

Gaia was in quite an interesting state at the time. Garel, his HQ and his two strike forces had been completely obliterated by the supposedly weak people of this planet. All of his forces were completely clueless, and when Aldoran's fleet started launching siege weapons at their positions, they barely had time to fire countermeasures before they were blown into submission. Aldoran's pinpoint defensive system handled the simple shots fired by the enemy. And with that, there remained only one target: the Hyulrien HQ.

Aldoran was quite happy with the success of this planetary campaign. In just a day and a half or so of planet-time, he had destroyed an enemy pursuit fleet and scout fleet. He had given the orders by ansible back to his home space that the defenses could stay there, because it was safer to keep them in the area. Hyulria was most likely in a state of chaos, and a decisive blow would finish them once and for all. Aldoran began making preparations for the attack when his original strike fleet made it back to Gaian orbit. 

In Lindblum, anything from the enemy forces that could be salvaged was taken in. Most of those items were Fireshots, but on occasion they found that a bike-mounted blaster was acceptable. They even managed to take in some armor. By the time the day was done, Lindblum was ready to begin massive reverse-engineering processes. On Aldoran's flagship, Reliya and Rel worked together to make a psychic conference of sorts. Mikoto, Blank, Regent Cid, and Zidane were all linked together. Reliya and Rel made the realization that each person's psychic connection with them could be tied with another person's, given the appropriate amount of psychic energy. So, any time anyone sent a thought to one person, everyone heard it. In this way, everyone quickly understood the planetary situation, and Reliya and Rel were quickly sapped of energy. Members of Aldoran's staff brought in refreshments, but it wasn't enough to keep them going for long. Everyone knew what he or she had to, though.

At Alexandria castle, it took quite a while for everyone to take stock of everything. Eventually, the army realized they had won, and returned to the castle with the Knights of Pluto to celebrate another spectacular victory. One thing they didn't understand, though, was how all of their soldiers had risen. They had seen the Yin Yang creature, but didn't know what to make of it. They assumed that a royal address would be given soon, especially after the fact that Alexandria has suffered a lot of damage from the attack. Quina was the last to leave the battle sight, content to search every ruin for food. Zidane, having seen Ark, knew that his wife was in the area, so he quickly found her. Before he could do that, though, Vivi, Eiko and Dagger had all gathered round the crying form of Viko. Vivi did so because he was just ten paces in front of his daughter when the combi-summon occurred, and Eiko and Dagger because they had felt Viko pulling on them for energy. 

"Why me? Why?" Viko wailed, beating her fists on the ground. Eiko tried to comfort her with touch, while Dagger relied on her white magic, and Vivi used his way with words. It wasn't his way to say much, but when he did say things, they mattered.

"Viko, you did what was right," he assured her, staring into her tear-stained face. She sniffled, wiping her nose, then took an elixir that Dagger handed her with a smile. She gulped down the syrupy mixture, and started to feel better. Zidane appeared at this point, so Dagger left Viko to her parents and started talking with him. 

"Are you sure, dad? Wasn't there any other way?" she asked quietly. Vivi shook his head gravely.

"No, Viko, when a person tries to take your life, you have only two choices if you want to live. You can either take their life first, or run away. And there was no way you could have ran from these people. And, thanks to you, many people had their lives given back to them, and others still avoided such a loss! You are a true hero, Viko."

The daughter of Vivi and Eiko started smiling a bit, then stood up out of her mother's lap. 

"If you say so. But I just wonder if I should've let that thing kill me," she said absently.

"What? Surely you don't mean that, Viko?" asked Eiko, shocked. Viko smiled, shook her head and shrugged.

"I don't know anymore, Mom. I just..." she put a hand up to the cheek that her Eidolon had stung. "I don't think I'm the bright creature of hope that everyone thought I was."

"What makes you think that?" asked Eiko, standing as well.

"You saw what happened. I used Aunt Dagger's Ark to help me. And I let those people on that ship use me to destroy their enemies, when I had never even seen them or knew what was wrong with them. I just wish there was someway we could stop all of the killing, for good. Life is just too precious to take it from someone, unless there really is no other way. And even then, I wish we didn't have to."

Dagger and Zidane had left for the castle, and Eiko and Vivi just looked at each other. Their daughter was describing to them what seemed to be the very vision of Clariya. Then, it hit them, and they both tensed up. Way back when the whole thing ended, they thought they had heard the demon swearing to come back to 'perfect' life. And, they had absorbed a lot of that creature's energy. What if, somehow, Clariya had implanted herself in their child, and was just waiting for the chance to emerge once more to smite the universe? Neither of Viko's parents wanted to consider it.

"Hey, you two look like you've seen a ghost or something. Are you okay?" Viko asked. They both nodded, but Viko raised an eyebrow.

"Okay. Anyway, I think we should head back to the castle," she suggested. Her parents agreed, and hand in hand in hand they headed back. However, a certain white creature with a large tongue chased them down before they could get too far, and pounced on Viko.

"Ack! Stop it, Uncle Quina!" Viko protested, wrestling with his tongue to keep it out of her face. The Qu complied, getting off of her and pouting a bit.

"Space people have no yummy yummies! Me go back to castle and make big feast for everyone."

If there was one thing Quina could do forever, it was cooking. If there were two things, they would be cooking and eating. Such was the training of the gourmand. The four headed back to the castle, accompanied by a few stragglers from the Alexandrian Army, who had grabbed Fireshots from the bodies. Vivi and Eiko talked with each other quietly as they went on their way.

"Well, she hasn't developed all of Clariya's traits yet. For one thing, she's only generalized about not killing. It's not like she wants everyone to be emotionless drones," Vivi commented.

"Yes, that's true. Still, she's just a little girl. Her views might change... and what if we can't stop her? She's already shown such incredible power, by the time anything Clariya might have planted in her appears, she could be unstoppable," Eiko responded.

"That's true, but even if it does come to that, what's the point in worrying? I say that we should just keep supporting her, and try to make sure that she understands why being full of emotion and a sense of self is important," Vivi added.

"I suppose you're right, Vivi. You always were smart when it came to these things," Eiko said, giving him a quick kiss. Viko looked up at them.

"What are you guys talking about?" she asked. With some fast thinking, Eiko came up with a good response.

"We were talking about how it is to be your parents, honey."

"Well how is it?" she asked, the optimism of youth once again dominating her face.

"It's wonderful, Viko. We couldn't have hoped for a better child," Vivi said. So maybe it wasn't the complete truth; it was close enough. Viko beamed, and they all returned to the castle.

"Commander Aldoran, we've received a radio transmission from the strike fleet on rendezvous to Gaia. I'm patching you through now," the communications officer announced. Aldoran wondered for a moment why they weren't communicating via ansible, but soon he realized that it must have resulted from damage suffered in the initial retreat.

"Aldoran, do you read?" the crisp voice of the General came in. A picture soon appeared as well, showing him in perfect display. Aldoran almost laughed at the contrast; he had barely begun to clean himself up after the last campaign.

"Yes, Cyrus, I do. What's your status?" he responded.

"We've reached cruising speed, and will be in orbit in a few Trilan-days. We wish to be filled in on the current status of things."

Aldoran nodded. "Very well, Cyrus. I'll have my TO send a log of all the progressions that have taken place. First, though, I'll have you know that the situation here is positive. The enemy threat has been neutralized, and it seems we may have discovered a powerful new weapon or two on this planet."

Cyrus raised an eyebrow. "Aldoran, what weapons could you have possibly found on a class D planet that could even match the potency of our current arsenal?"

Aldoran chuckled a bit. "Cyrus, are you familiar with the myth of the Triad of Power?" he asked. Cyrus nodded, a bit frustrated.

"Of course I am. Anyone of rank major or higher has to be completely knowledgeable of the Triad. Why?"

"Well then, you know that there is one almost neutral force that is supposed to keep the other two from changing things. This force possesses incredible power. I think I may have found it."

Cyrus almost lost his composure for a moment. "Aldoran, are you feeling alright? The Triad of Power could lie anywhere in this galaxy! And you just happen to find the most powerful component, willing to assist in our cause?"

Aldoran nodded, dead serious. "Look over the data log that you've been sent. You'll see notes on strange energy readings. I had some physicists take a closer look, and the energy readings of at least four people have gone incredibly high, and seem very abnormal. And, there is one other power that has me even more worried."

"What's that, Aldoran? If what you say is true, how could we have anything to worry about?" Cyrus questioned.

"Well... it seems that two of these people had a child. Her powers are amazingly high, even higher than those of her parents are; however, her energy readings are almost exactly the opposite. I fear that she may have the Beast of Eternity resting inside her."

It took Cyrus a moment before he could continue. He was determined to pour over the data log that Aldoran had sent him, and found no discrepancies between it and Aldoran's explanation. 

"Aldoran, do you know what the chances are of finding two of the Triad in one place? You almost have a better chance of being picked up alive by a starship after being ejected into space with no suit on! I don't know if I can believe this, even if the proof is right here in front of me. I just.... It's impossible to believe, Commander."

"That's what I thought at first too. But many trials have proven this beyond the shadow of a doubt. I think that the best course of action would be to simply kill the child, but I don't know how that would affect her parents. They may decide to retaliate, and they have powers that far surpass even our ships' batteries. Besides, we don't want to lose such a powerful ally. We have no choice, I think, but to allow Viko to live, and hope that she dies in battle. Either that, or we could hope that by some probability broach, we reach the Cataclysm."

"You mean you actually think we could get the Beast of Death to interact with this Viko child, at the same time the Force of Balance is present?"

"Exactly. We don't have much choice in the matter."

"Well, that may very well be. Nevertheless, we need to make battle plans without relying on the Cataclysm. This is much more complicated than we originally thought."

"Indeed. I'll give you some more time to look over that data, then you can call me back. I should have at least the beginnings of a plan worked out by then."

"Roger that, Commander. Over and out."

Aldoran sighed heavily. Being a commander was hard work. Suddenly, he felt a tug at his sleeve.

"Mister Aldoran, sir?" came the voice of Reliya. He was startled at first, thinking she was still sleeping after the conference, but he was good now at dealing with surprises.

"Yes, Reliya?" he asked.

"When am I going back to Alexandria?" she asked. Aldoran realized that indeed, Reliya belonged back with her family. At least for now, anyway. So he had the transporter activated, and sent her back down to just outside Alexandria castle. There was on problem in his kind thinking, though. He forgot to find out if she had listened to his conversation with the General.

Are you enticed beyond belief yet? I know I haven't written anything for a while, but I'm trying to utilize my morning time for that purpose now. I hope you enjoyed this chapter here. Let's see... we should have at least three more chapters on the way. I know this one was boring, but I plan to fill the ones following with action. Well, peace be with you.

PS

For all you loyal fans out there, I have NOT forgotten my promise to make an extra special surprise when this fic is done. You'll love it! (I hope)


End file.
